Drama films
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‘They’d never seen sliced bread’: how a tiny film about Himalayan yak-herders conquered the world
Filmed in a remote Bhutan village, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom captures a way of life that is rapidly vanis…
- Cannes 2022, Cannes film festival, Culture, Drama films, Festivals, Film, Pakistan, Romance films, Society, South and Central Asia, Transgender, World cinema, World news
Joyland review – subtle trans drama from Pakistan is remarkable debut
Saim Sadiq’s film explores the unsettled social and sexual identities of a widower and his children with delic…
- Action and adventure films, Culture, Drama films, Film, Pakistan, South and Central Asia, World news
The Legend of Maula Jatt review – Pakistani classic remake is Game of Thrones meets Gladiator
Entertaining new version of Pakistan cult movie follows a young noble boy spirited away to a poor village when…
- Bollywood, Crime films, Culture, Drama films, Film, India, South and Central Asia, Thrillers, World news
Vikram Vedha review – swaggering Bollywood remake of Tamil crime caper
Pushkar-Gayatri’s reboot of their 2017 hit improves on the original thanks to two zingy lead performances from…
- Afghanistan, Animation in film, Culture, Czech Republic, Drama films, Europe, Film, South and Central Asia, World news
My Sunny Maad review – Czech-Afghan love story told as culture-shock animation
Despite its visual appeal, the characters in Czech animator Michaela Pavlátová’s clash-of-values family drama …
- Bollywood, Comedy, Comedy films, Culture, Drama films, Film, India, South and Central Asia, World news
Laal Singh Chaddha review – a ‘Hindi Forrest Gump’, no more, no less
Director Advait Chandan is too literal in his adaptation of the 90s classic but finds a warmth and political h…
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The Big City review – Satyajit Ray’s miraculous look at a new world of possibility
The struggles and triumphs of a 1950s Kolkata family whose highest earner is a woman is told with marvellous l…
- Action and adventure films, Bollywood, Culture, Drama films, Film, India, Romance films, South and Central Asia, World news
A biryani western, on bhang: RRR and Indian cinema reopens
Fans and critics welcome multilingual, pan-Indian, historical-action-romance blockbuster from the renowned Tel…
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Jalsa review – hit-and-run Bollywood drama speeds past social issues
Drama about a reporter who knows too much about a gruesome traffic incident checks off a grocery list of urgen…
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Jalsa review – hit-and-run Bollywood drama speeds past social issues
Drama about a reporter who knows too much about a gruesome traffic incident checks off a grocery list of urgen…
- Bollywood, Books, Crime films, Culture, Drama films, Film, Film adaptations, India, Mumbai, South and Central Asia, World news
Gangubai Kathiawadi review – Bollywood take on the mafia queen of the Mumbai underworld
Alia Bhatt stars as schmaltz and spectacular fantasy-musical setpieces balance the gruesomeness of this true-c…
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Gehraiyaan review – Deepika Padukone mesmerises in a torrid drama
There are shades of 90s erotic thrillers in this enjoyable if overcooked tale of romantic dissatisfaction and …
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Toofaan review – Mumbai boxing drama is more Rocky than Raging Bull
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s film has high ambition but dodges complexity in favour of overheated melodramaPartly…
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The Wasps Are Here review – gently sensual Sri Lankan classic
Dharmasena Pathiraja’s 1978 drama, now revived, elegantly broaches universal themes with its story of city sli…
- Culture, Drama films, Film, India, Irrfan Khan, Mumbai, South and Central Asia, World cinema, World news
Salaam Bombay! review – still fiercely unsentimental and throbbing with energy
The re-release of Mira Nair’s unflinching 1988 story of street children, prostitutes and drug dealers shows it…